In just over 24 hours it’ll be a New Year. Gosh. Has 2015 absolutely flown by for anyone else? Seems the older we get the faster time passes us by.

The end of the year always brings about the same things: we have no idea what day is it for the best part of a week; we stuff our faces with Quality Street choccies (except those coconut ones, no thanks); debate whether or not mince pies and Christmas pudding are delicious or disgusting and, of course, take some time reflect on the past twelve months: the good, the bad and the ugly.

2015 may not have been quite what I expected, but I can’t deny some wonderful memories were made. Here’s my top ten moments of 2015…

Well I’ve been totally rubbish with writing and posting this month. Massive props to everyone that made it through #blogmas successfully, you’ve got much better organisational skills than I!

On the plus though, this Christmas break I’ve come up with what is hopefully an insightful new monthly series on concert photography. I’ve been posting a #MusicMonday image from my concert photography back catalogue each week on my Instagram, but now I’ll be do a photo roundup at the end of the month with a little more detail behind each image – whether there’s a funny story or anecdote about the concert, or a fun interaction with the subject or anything wild that happened in the pitt that night.

It’s cold and wet and miserable outside, an actually…I think it might be snowing?! There’s a flurry, and it’s not just Olaf’s…

Why does it feel like Autumn and Winter go on for ever and ever yet Spring and Summer seem so brief? As Brits we seem to just accept this, keep our heads down and carry on. We function better in the cold. And then in summersoon as the mercury hits 28° we seem to turn into puddles and simply can’t function (unless there’s Pimms, we can usually manage if there’s an icy glass of Pimms about!)

I long for a warmer time, a happier time…a Disney-filled time. Earlier this year I made a wild decision to purchase a Passeport Annuel Dream aka a years pass to access Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios Park as many times as I wanted for a solid 365 days. Admittedly I’ve only managed 13 days but totally feel that it was worth the investment. If you’re looking to go for more than 3 days and you aren’t staying in a resort hotel I highly recommend you look into the membership scheme – you can find out everything here in this handy DLP Guide.

There’s so much more to these theme parks than just rollercoasters (though nothing beats riding Big Thunder Mountain in a loop as the sun sets, or spending 3 consecutive hours doing Twilight Zone’s Tower of Terror Hotel until you’re on a first name basis with the Cast Members); there’s spectacular shows such as Moteurs… Action! Stunt Show Spectacular in Disney Studios and season productions in Le Théâtre du Château just off Main Street; several parades every day where you can catch a glimpse of your favourite characters; and of course the magical firework show at the end of the night in front of Aurora’s beautiful castle.

Hopefully through some of these photographs I took on this years adventures you’ll see that the Disney teams stunning attention to detail that keeps the magic alive throughout the parks (and I’m sorry in advance if you find yourself accidentally booking a trip there by the end of the blog!)

Disneyland

It’s November! How did that happen? Where has this year gone? I distinctly remember it being January just last week. Oh 2015 you’ve been one of those years that started of slow and in the past few months have snowballed into all sorts of exciting adventures.

In a few weeks I’ll be off to Toronto to visit friends and then on to Orlando to see one of my favourite bands on their 10 year anniversary tour. Dropping in on the sunshine state can mean only one thing: THEME PARKS. Having visited Disneyland Paris three times this year it’s only right that this next adventure is all about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios.

But before I jet off across the pond it’s only right I get the photojournals of the past few months out the way. First up is October’s trip to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in Leavesden. It was my third (or fourth? I can’t keep track!) visit and once again I was looking forward to seeing all the incredible sets and props as well as spotting new things I’d previously missed. It was also the first time visiting since they opened the Platform 9¾..but more on that later…

I love Halloween. I’ll confess I’m not one for dressing up, but regardless I am totally sold on the idea of showing up at your neighbours doorstep looking for candy (in costume or otherwise!). I’m also a huge fan of the movies that perfectly celebrate this spooktacular holiday, so to celebrate I’ve put together this wonderful family-friendly binge list of my favourite halloween classics from the ’90s, because let’s face it, it was the best decade for it!

’90s Classics for Halloween

As it’s National Cat Day I figured there’s no better way to celebrate than to introduce you to some of my favourite cats – the whole furry gang at Scotland’s first Cat Cafe – Maison De Moggy. The cafe on Westport just off the Grassmarket in Edinburgh is home to a collection of beautiful breeds of cats and kittens and the most delicious (gluten free!) Salted Caramel cake I’ve ever come across.

I first came across this cafe when I was visiting from London, and now that I’m back living in Scotland I love going to visit regularly. The staff are fantastic and their focus on the welfare and happiness of the cats over all else means I’m proud to support their venture. As someone who can’t currently own a cat I find it’s a lovely place to relax and play – petting cats is a great stress reliever!

Meet the Cats…

I’ll confess I was spoiled by film premieres during my time in London, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could still wrangle my way into one North of the Border! This time around I found myself at the beautiful Festival Theatre in Edinburgh for the Scottish premiere Macbeth.